


taking a bath?

by angelsprunch



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, and there's gonna be some special appearances from some other characters :), but i don't wanna spoil anything, but they're in their twenties, like twenty or twenty-one, lush au, mike works at lush, so this is what u get for now, there's a lot of, there's gonna be other ships added ok, they're not rlly in college but like some are??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 07:56:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13922754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsprunch/pseuds/angelsprunch
Summary: stanley was dragged to lush but there’s a cute boy with a warm smile so maybe he’ll go back.





	1. it's everything about you

**Author's Note:**

> i got inspired for this in the dumbass group chat last night bc we were talking about how stanley takes a bath and they’re all in denial so we somehow got to this?? but anyway !! i’m making this a series and i have a lot of plans for it and i’m really excited so let me know what you think!!

“Bev, I really don’t know why you thought to take me here with you. I’ve been using the same kind of soap since I was sixteen. It’s the soap I like. I’m not going to change the soap I use just because you take me to some fancy, overpriced soap shop.” Stan sighed, but he followed Beverly into the small store. There were soaps on display and as soon as they walked in someone was offering to help them. Stan didn’t pay much mind to it and instead he inspected the soaps that were on display like cheese with mild interest. It wasn’t until the voice asked him if he was looking for anything that Stan finally looked over at the man working in this store. His motions stilled when he was met with warm brown eyes and arguably the friendliest smile he’d ever encountered. “Er… what was that?” he asked, letting his hand fall to his side. Stan didn’t miss the way Beverly hid a smile behind her hand.

 

“I asked if you are looking for anything. You look like someone who would enjoy our products. Typically girls bring their boyfriends in here and they have little to no interest in our products, but you seem like someone who, uh, really keeps up with personal hygiene.” the employee explained. It was Stan’s turn to laugh, but he didn’t bother hiding it behind his hand. 

 

The man looked between Stan and Beverly with a confused look and Beverly sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “Stanny and I are not together.” she explained, voice gentle and friendly. There was something in her eye and she winked before she turned to walk to a display of bath bombs. Or, Stan thought they were bath bombs. He wasn’t too interested in what a bath bomb was so he wasn’t completely sure. Stan watched her for a moment before he turned his interest back to the man that was staring at him with some curiosity. He wanted to be annoyed, but he couldn’t find it in him to be upset at this friendly face. 

 

“Sorry for, uh, assuming you guys are together.” The worker laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. Stan offered a small smile before he scanned the store once more. He wasn’t interested in anything in the store, but he didn’t want to walk away from this man. “Have you been to a Lush before?” the man asked and Stan shook his head, letting his shoulders relax a bit. “Oh! Well we have all sorts of bath and hygiene things. We have soaps, shampoos, conditioners… We really have it all.” The man watched Stan for a moment as if he was giving him a chance to comment, but Stan stayed quiet and watched. “Uh.. Well! We use all natural ingredients. We also don’t test on animals. Everything is handmade with fresh ingredients. It’s a very ethical company and I know that the prices are a little high but you have to know that not only is everything done ethically with clean, natural ingredients but Lush also ensures that they pay all of their employees fair wages.”

 

Stan raised his eyebrows and the man paused, expecting Stan to speak. “It sounds kind of like a cult. Did they brainwash you so you can make this pitch?” he teased, the hints of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. If the employee blushed, Stan didn’t notice. Instead he extended his hand. “I’m Stan. I don’t really… do all this fancy stuff. I’ve been getting the same soap from a drugstore since I was sixteen. If you can convince me that this is worth the change, though, I’ll buy it. I’ve gotta admit, though, I’m pretty stuck in my ways.” 

 

“I’m Mike. Do you have any…” Mike trailed off, biting his lip as he thought for a moment before shaking his head. “What scents do you like?” he asked, leading Stan over to a shelf with some black containers on it. Stan glanced at them before looking back over at Mike with a raised eyebrow. “This is a body lotion.” he explained, reaching for Stan’s hand but pausing to make sure he was okay with the contact. Stan smiled and let Mike take his hand and Mike rubbed the lotion into his skin. “It’s called Sleepy. It’s supposed to soothe your senses and help you relax. You can use it as often or as rarely as you want, but the lavender is supposed to help soothe you and you look like someone who could use some help relaxing.” Stan didn’t answer, but he could hear Beverly snort from a few feet away. He resisted the urge to turn and glare at her.

 

“It does smell nice.” he admitted. Mike let go of Stan’s hands once he finished massaging the lotion into his skin and Stan would be lying if he said he didn’t miss the contact. Still, Stan brushed the back of his hand against his face and was pleased to find how soft it was. “And how much is it? Half my tuition?”

 

“Typically, yeah. We actually have a really good deal right now, though, for boys with cute brown eyes. So, I can ring you up for about $10 for it.”

 

The compliment went over Stan’s head, but he did grab the container with the lotion. “Do you have anything that’s good for curly hair?”

 

“We’ve got this shampoo called Curly Wurly. I kno--” Stan was already snickering at the name and Mike just looked at him with a defeated smile. “Anyway! It’s primary ingredient is coconut if you wanted to try it. It’s a bit more expensive.” he explained, grabbing one of the containers from the shelf beside Stanley. Stan took the container when it was offered to him. He glanced at the price by the display before taking the lid off and smelling it.

 

“I’ll give it a shot, I suppose. If it doesn’t work I can just give it to the girl I came here with or my roommate or something.” he shrugged.

 

“If you don’t like it you can come back and I’ll try and recommend something better for you. I don’t want this to leave a bad taste in your mouth.” Mike smiled. He started walking over to the register and Stan caught a glimpse of Beverly over his shoulder. She raised her eyebrows and made a face at Stan, but he simply rolled his eyes. He knew what she was implying but he didn’t care enough to march over to where she was by some bizarre looking bar of soaps to correct her. If Beverly wanted to sit their and believe in nonsense while living in her fairytales then Stan supposed he could let her do that until they left. Instead, he followed Mike over to the counter and set his items by the register. “We have some charity pots over here, if you’re interested. They’re about $8 and it’s a lotion. If you look you can see that there are different organizations on different containers and all of the proceeds for these little things go towards the organizations on the lids.” he explained, ringing up Stanley’s items.

 

Stanley glanced at the charity pots and he wasn’t really considering getting one until he saw one with an image of a bird. Delicate fingers picked up the pot and he handed it over to Mike with a shy smile. “Birds?” he asked with that warm smile while he clicked away on some buttons on the register to finish processing the order. Stanley simply nodded and Mike packed the items away in a paper bag. Mike told him his total and explained the deal with the recyclable pots. Stan listened and he paid. There was a look on Mike’s face that Stan couldn’t decipher, but before he could say anything else Beverly was ready to go. She had a bag identical to Stan’s and he considered asking her what she got, but ultimately decided against it. “Come back soon!” Mike called as the pair left the store.

 

“So did you give him your number?” Beverly asked, bumping her shoulder against Stan’s. Stan shot her a look which only earned a fit of giggles from the redhead. Beverly was about the same height as him. They never really argued over who was taller but she could easily meet his eyes and it made it that much easier for him to shoot a glare at her when she recovered from her laughing fit to look at him. The glare left her unphased, though, and she patted his cheek with a ring clad finger. “He was really flirting with you, baby.” she teased.

 

“Who was flirting with Stan?” Eddie asked, setting a cup of coffee on the counter and smiling at the customer as they walked away. Eddie’s cheeks had a bit of a flush to them and some of his hair was peeking out of the visor that he wore. There was a stan on the sleeve of his white polo and Stan scrunched up his nose when he saw it. “Did you even realize he was flirting, Stanny?” Eddie asked, teasing as he moved to make Beverly her iced coffee. 

 

“He wasn’t flirting. He was just trying to make a sale.”

 

“So that’s a no, then?” Eddie held up the coffee as if to ask Beverly if she wanted cream and sugar to which she nodded. “You’re hopeless.” he teased, setting the coffee on the counter for Beverly. Eddie met Stan’s eyes with a friendly smile before he moved to make Stan a tea.

 

“How does that make me hopeless? He wasn’t flirting. He was just being a good salesman.”

 

“Were you flirting?” Beverly asked before taking a sip of her drink.

 

Bev’s question earned a snort from Eddie and he looked over at Beverly as he slid the tea over to Stan. “Stan? Flirting? Our Stan?” Eddie conveniently missed the glare coming from Stan.

 

“Did you actually get anything done today or were you just getting paid to stare into the Vans storefront and watch your boyfriend?” Stan said, picking up the cup that Eddie made for him.

 

“At least I have a boyfriend to stare at.” Eddie replied in a singsong voice as he went to the back to clock out. When he came back he had a small backpack and his hat and apron were no longer on. “I’m gonna need your help getting a few stains out, by the way.” he added as he walked around the counter to stand between Beverly and Stan. Beverly moved to have take Eddie’s hand in her own and shot him a cheery smile before kissing his cheek and thanking him for the coffee. Stan just shook his head with a fond smile.

 

“When is Bill’s shift over?” he asked, glancing at his two friends.

 

Beverly shrugged and took another sip of her coffee and Eddie thought for a moment before checking his watch. “It’s over in about half an hour. We can go sit in the food court and wait for him? I want a salad.”

 

Neither Beverly or Stan protested and Eddie led the way to the food court. Eddie split off to go get his food while Beverly and Stan went to get a table. They sat down and Beverly busied herself with her phone for a moment before she looked up at Stan with a knowing smile. “He was flirting with you. He was cute for a guy.” she teased, nudging his toes with her own under the table. Stan rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue this time.

 

“So what if he was?”

 

“I think that you should come back with me next time. Maybe you can try flirting. I know you’re capable of flirting. I remember you going on a few dates last semester.”

 

“Why are you trying to set me up with the dude from the soap store?”

 

“I just want to see you focusing on something other than your schoolwork. It isn’t a good look on you.”

 

Stan was going to protest, but Eddie sat down beside Beverly and set his change and his receipt on the table. “So you guys… Still aren’t telling Bill about what I told you. Right?” he asked, not looking up from his salad. He poured some dressing on it and despite looking calm, there was a nervous edge to his voice. Stan understood, though. If he was in Eddie’s situation he was sure he’d be feeling a lot of different things. 

 

“You’re not hurting Bill so it isn’t my place to say anything to him.” Beverly replied, snatching a cherry tomato from his bowl. Eddie shot her a look out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t push the subject any further and Stan was quiet for a moment, considering what was going on with Eddie.

 

“Did he come in again?” Stan finally asked, ignoring the surprised look from Beverly. She apparently didn’t know that the boy frequented Eddie’s job.

 

“I gave him my number.” Eddie admitted, voice barely audible. Beverly fell silent and she rested her head on Eddie’s shoulder. Neither of them said anything for a long while and Stan took out his own phone to check on his assignments on the website. They sat like that in silence until Bill came over and sat beside Stan.

“Somehow my shift is always the last one to let me out.” he complained, resting his hand on top of Eddie’s. Bill didn’t notice the shame on Eddie’s face, he was too busy staring at Beverly.

 

“I guess you’re the working man out of all of us, Big Bill.” Beverly teased, rolling a straw wrapper around her index finger. “You didn’t miss much, though. Someone was flirting with Stan today and he was totally clueless the entire time.”

 

“Was not.”

 

“Hush. You were too.” 

 

Bill smiled warmly and glanced at all of his friends before shrugging. “If it’s any consolation, Stan, you’ve never been too great at picking up on that stuff.” Stan shot him a look and Bill shrugged once more before leaning in to kiss Eddie. Eddie turned at the last second, though and Bill caught the corner of his mouth. “So what are we all doing today?”

 

“Stan probably wants to get home to work on his school work. Don’t argue with me! I see you checking your phone. Beverly has a date tonight, I think. Right, Bev?” Bev nodded and Eddie smiled. “You and I can go see a movie or something if you want? There’s some good stuff playing.” he explained, piling his garbage up in the bowl that his salad was in. Bill thought for a moment before nodding.

 

Opening his mouth to protest, Stan decided against it. He did have a paper due tonight. Instead he nodded and got up from his spot. “Let me know what movie you guys see. I wanna hear about it. There’s a lot of good stuff in theatres right now.” he smiled. Beverly met his eyes and got up as well, looping her arm through Stan’s and moving to grab Eddie’s trash.

 

“When do you two work again? Stanny and I are going to come back before next week so he can get that boy’s number.” she smiled, patting his forearm. 

 

“I work tomorrow and I think Bill works tomorrow, too.”

 

“No, that’s too soon.”

 

“I’m working every day this week except for Wednesday.” Eddie explained. Bev was still for a moment, considering her options before nodding.

 

“I’ll see you soon, Ed.” she smiled before the pair turned to leave.

 

“Tell me about your date, Bev!” Eddie called as they walked away.


	2. sometimes things just don't work out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mike and richie both gush about their crushes and ben goes on a date. eddie and bill also go on a date, but eddie is a bit distracted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here’s chapter two !!! i actually am really enjoying writing fluff?? there’s some angst in this one ig but nothing compared to what i usually write !! also there’s a little uh surprise in here for ya !! please talk to me about my fic and rb it and stuff :( i’m a leo i love talking about myself :( my tumblr is @ fairyling

Mike dropped his keys on the table by the door and looked around the apartment curiously. It was suspiciously quiet considering Richie should have been home for at least half an hour. He considered calling out to his roommate but then he decided that maybe sneaking up on Richie would be a bit more fun. He shuffled down the hallway after he toed off his shoes and peeked into Richie’s room. He saw him lying in his bed, curled around his phone and it was a curious sight. It wasn’t that Richie was never quiet, it was just different to catch his best friend like this. His cheek was pressed against the pillow and his glasses were crooked on his face while he stared at his phone with a concentrated expression. His tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth and his knees were pulled halfway up to his chest. Mike was quiet for a moment, just taking in the sight before he pushed open the creaky door and Richie turned his attention to his roommate. “Did you just get home?” he asked, pushing himself into a sitting position and locking his phone.

“Yeah. I was gonna pick up some pizza or something so we could have dinner, but then I remembered that you said you were going to cook something?”

“Oh, yeah! I found a vegan recipe that I think you’d like so I wanted to try it out.”

“If you don’t want to we can do it another night.”

“No, no. I just got distracted.” Richie laughed, glancing at his phone for a moment before adjusting on his bed and grabbing one of his pillows, hugging it to his chest.

There was this rare calmness coming from him and Mike wanted to know more. He smiled at his friend and walked farther into the room, sitting down on Richie’s bed. “What’s got you so distracted, buddy?” he asked, smiling over at Richie. A bit of a blush rose to Richie’s cheeks and he shrugged, almost as if he was going to dismiss it.

“It’s stupid and cheesy and if I tell you, I’m going to insist that you beat me up.”

“I’m not beating you up.”

“Then I’m not telling you.”

“Don’t be a child.”

The two stared at each other for a moment before Richie leaned in and tapped his cheek. “Right here. Hit me right here when I tell you.” Mike rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to his cheek instead, earning a giggle from Richie. “Alright, alright. I’ll tell you. That guy that I talk about sometimes?”

“You mean all the time?”

“Yes, shut up. The big men are talking now. OW!” he whined when Mike pushed him back onto the bed. “If you want me you just have to ask, Mikey.” he teased, but he stayed on his back on the bed and was quiet for a moment as if he was gathering his thoughts. “That guy gave me his number. We’ve been texting since I got home. It’s just… different. I feel like one of those fucking teenage girls in a romcom. Not that I’ve ever seen a romcom, but you get the point, yeah?”

“I walked in on you and Ben watching 10 Things I Hate About You two days ago. Don’t lie to me, Tozier.”

“It was Ben’s idea! I was just being a good friend!”

“You were crying like a bitch.”

“Shush.”

The two shared a look before they started laughing and Mike shook his head. “I was flirting with this guy at work today. I think he’s either straight or he is just really clueless.”

“Straight people are clueless.”

“He didn’t seem straight, though. I know that’s… not something you can just tell but I don’t know. The way his friend was acting I felt like she was trying to get him alone with me for a reason. I wasn’t even being subtle and he just… did not catch on. Or maybe he wasn’t interested.”

“Mike I’ve seen you at work. It’s easier to count who isn’t flirting with you than it is to count who is flirting with you. You just pull everyone in and if you weren’t so nice you’d probably be a huge heartbreaker. Not that you aren’t now. I still remember when you broke my heart.” Richie threw an arm over his eyes and sighed dramatically. “I remember as if it were yesterday.” he said in an exasperated, high pitched voice.

“I’ll push you off your own bed.”

“Do it, coward.”

Richie shouted as he felt Mike’s hands on his sides and then he fell off the bed with a thump. “I’m not a coward.” he grinned, leaning over the edge to grin at Richie’s pouting face. Richie reached out for Mike and Mike rolled his eyes before helping Richie up. He didn’t expect Richie to quite literally fall against him, but Mike didn’t protest and instead he fell back against the bed and let Richie lay on top of him. One of his hands rested on Richie’s back while the other was behind his own head. “Where’s Ben? When is he gonna be back?”

“Mmm, Benny had a class today and he said he was going on a date after class.”

“A date?”

“Not with who you think. He asked out the girl that he’d been talking to because I told him to stop pining.”

“I have a feeling you didn’t use those words.”

“My word choice is neither here nor there.”

“Are you gonna cook for him, too?”

“I hadn’t thought about that. Yeah, I’ll make enough for him. If he isn’t here to eat it, we can wrap up a plate for him and if he doesn’t want it we can eat it tomorrow. Probably you, you’re more conscious about eating leftovers than I am.”

“I think it’s more of an ‘I know how to heat things up in the microwave.’”

“I know how to heat things up! I just don’t like waiting so I’d rather eat it cold.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Did you get the name of the guy you were hitting on today at work? I feel like I know most of the people that go into Lush for some reason. They find out that you’re my roommate and gush about you and how nice you are. They want to know if you’re nice when you’re not on the clock and I tell them all about the real you.”

“If they knew anything about you they would know that what you call the ‘real me’ is just a product of containing you.”

Richie narrowed his eyes at Mike and stared for a moment before pressing a loud kiss to his cheek and then getting up. “I know you love me. I give your life meaning.” he grinned, grabbing his phone off his bed and walking out into the kitchen. Mike got up to follow his friend and rolled his eyes.

“The guy that I met was named Stan. Or that’s what he introduced himself as. He came in with a girl that was about his height with short red hair. The girl looked familiar, but she might have just been a regular.”

“Did you catch her name?”

“I don’t remember. Why?”

“I think I know both of them. The redhead is really cute, lots of spunk. She takes Stan with her everywhere. He’s grumpy but if you get a few hard lemonades in him then he’s a pretty sloppy kisser.”

“You made out with the guy I was flirting with?”

“It was a party like eight months ago. He always had a stick up his ass and insisted that I was insufferable because of one class we had together before I dropped out. I wanted to see just how insufferable he thought I was.” Richie winked and Mike rolled his eyes. “He was a good kisser, though. I wonder if you could pull the stick out of his ass. Maybe put something new up there.” Richie wiggled his eyebrows and ducked when Mike tossed one of Richie’s dirty socks at him.

“You’re truly insufferable.”

“I can go back to my room and you can make dinner.” The two shared a look for a moment, as if waiting for one of them to crack. It was Mike who cracked first, face splitting into a smile while he walked past Richie to go into the kitchen.

“I’ll do the dishes if you cook.”

“Deal.”

The two talked about different things that were happening in their lives while Richie’s phone sat on the counter playing one of his playlists softly. Mike talked about his coworkers and gushed about the cute boy that came in today. He talked a little bit about how he wanted to go back to school, but he didn’t dwell on that much. Richie talked about his internship, some of the parties he’d been going to, and a little bit about the boy that gave Richie his number. There weren’t a lot of details that Mike could pull from Richie to identify the boy, but he tended to not press the issue. From what he could gather, it was more complicated than Richie was letting on so he didn’t want to stress his friend out.

“How do you think Ben’s date is going?” Mike asked as he dried the pan that Richie had used so he could put it away.

“I think Ben either has her head over heels with how hopeless he is or he’s getting his heartbroken as we speak.”

“Has he ever had his heart broken? I mean… he’s been in love with that girl since we moved here and she’s never reciprocated but he just keeps going.”

“I don’t think he knows his heart is breaking.”

“I hope this girl likes him. She doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

Richie nodded and grabbed the two plates, taking them to the small table. Richie set them down and got himself a glass of water. Mike raised an eyebrow at Richie’s drink choice, but he shrugged it away and Mike didn’t push. He got himself a glass of water as well and sat down at the table in front of a plate. “I can’t believe you made out with the guy that I was hitting on today.”

“What can I say? I get around.”

“Did you sleep with him? I won’t be mad if you did.”

“No, we didn’t sleep together. He wouldn’t even let me leave a hickey.”

Mike smirked at that and Richie was about to say something else but they heard the door to their apartment open and Mike looked over his shoulder to see Ben coming in. He was wearing a nice sweater and some jeans. If Mike was being honest, he was proud of Ben whenever he wore something that wasn’t as baggy as it could be. Sometimes he worried about Ben because of how much he hid behind baggy sweatshirts and shirts. He seemed to have a preference for the sweatshirts and that especially worried Mike because he didn’t want him getting too hot when he pulled this in the warmer seasons.

“Romeo! How’d the date go? Did you seal the deal?” Richie asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Ben flushed and looked away.

“Don’t be crude.”

“We made a plate for you, Ben, it’s sitting in the microwave.” Mike said, smiling at Ben before kicking Richie under the table. Richie whined, but didn’t retaliate. Instead he turned around in his chair to watch Ben get his plate from the microwave and come sit with them.

“She was nice, but I don’t think she was into me like that. She just… seemed like she wasn’t too interested in the date. I don’t blame her. Maybe we’re better off as friends.” he shrugged, taking a bite of his food.

“Well, she’s missing out because you’re a catch.” Mike said.

“I keep telling you, Haystack, I’d date you if you let me. I’d show you some real sweet loving.”

“And I keep telling you that I’ll consider it once you can prove to me that you wear clean clothes.”

Richie rolled his eyes, but laughed at Ben’s comment. He took another bite of his food and they finished their food together. Once they were done, Richie proposed that they drink and Ben asked what the occasion was and Richie shrugged. Still, they ended up sitting on the couch watching old cartoons while they sipped on mixed drinks.

“Who keeps texting you?” Bill asked, peering over Eddie’s shoulder.

Eddie quickly closed the app and shrugged. “It’s Beverly. She’s updating me about her date because they went to the bathroom. I told her to tell me as much as she could before they came back.”

“And?” Bill looked suspicious, but Eddie knew he wouldn’t push it. At the end of the day, Bill trusted him. It used to make Eddie feel good to know that he was trusted, but now it just made him feel guiltier.

“She said it’s going well. She’s having a good time.”

“Do you know who it’s with?”

“She wouldn’t tell me.”

“Does Stan know?”

“Even if he did, he wouldn’t tell me.”

“He probably knows. They’re roommates, he has to know.”

Eddie shrugged and bumped his shoulder against Bill’s as they walked out of the movie theatre. Bill reached for Eddie’s hand and Eddie let him. “I’d say that you should come over, but I have a paper due and a shift tomorrow. I kind of need to be able to focus.”

“I get it. No big deal, we can hang out again tomorrow after my shift.” Bill leaned down to kiss Eddie, but he caught the corner of his mouth when Eddie turned at the last minute. He frowned, but didn’t say anything. “Love you, Ed.”

“Love you, too, Billy.”

Bill watched Eddie while he walked away to his car and something felt wrong. Bill wanted to push, wanted to question, but he was too scared of what he’d find out. Instead he watched until Eddie was safely in his car before he turned to get into his own car. By the time he got home, he saw that his roommate was already asleep. He wondered if he had any company this time, he usually did and Bill felt a pang of jealousy at just the idea of someone else falling asleep with someone to hold while he had to go to bed alone. Before he crawled into bed, he sent a goodnight text to Eddie but Bill knew better than to stay up and wait for it.

Eddie got home and was surprised to see his roommate’s light still on. Eddie draped his jacket over the back of the couch and walked down the hallway, peeking into the room. He saw Will asleep in Jane’s arms and shook his head. As desperate as he was to understand the relationship that those two had, he wasn’t sure that he’d ever be able to fully understand. He smiled at how Jane had their arms wrapped around Will’s frame and as he went to turn off the lamp by Will’s bed, he realized that they were still awake. “Are you okay?” he whispered, looking over at Jane. They nodded, but didn’t say anything and their arms tightened around Will. Eddie simply nodded and reached for the light before pausing and looking at them once more. Jane nodded again and Eddie took that as permission so he turned the light off.

When he got into his own room, he dug through his drawers to try to find something to sleep in that didn’t come from Bill’s closet. Eddie found his mind wandering to the person that was blowing up his phone while he was with his boyfriend. Once he was finally dressed in something comfortable, he saw the screen of his phone light up and Eddie hated how his heart skipped a beat at the idea of this new person messaging him. Even more, he hated how his heart dropped when he saw that it as a message from his boyfriend. Eddie didn’t answer and instead he decided he’d pretend he was asleep and answer in the morning. He did send a goodnight text to someone else.


	3. i see you shining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> beverly has questions about her date. stan has homework.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know it's been a WHILE since i updated this and i'm pretty sure if i didn't update soon i would have orphaned it tbh but !! i know this update isn't great so pls leave feedback about what you'd like to see and such !! i want to bring this fic back to life and make it good !!

Light came in through Stan’s curtains as he made his bed. It was still quiet in their apartment so Stan knew that his roommate was sleeping, but he didn’t mind. No one seemed to have anything to do today and it wasn’t his job to wake her up. He glanced at the paper bag sitting on his dresser and frowned when he remembered that Beverly had told him that the boy at Lush had been flirting with him. He looked in the bag and took out what he bought, looking it over and trying to decide if he’d even use it. Realizing how much money he had spent on everything, Stan grabbed the bag and walked into the bathroom before turning the shower on with a huff. It wasn’t fair for him to be mad that the boy in Lush was too cute for him to not buy him anything, but Stan was too proud to be mad at himself for giving into it.

 

When Stan got out of the shower and finished his morning routine, he saw a sleepy Beverly sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee. “What time did you get home from your date last night?” he asked, going to make himself a cup of coffee as well. “Did it go well?”

 

“I’m not even sure it was a date. I only really called it a date to try and push Bill to stop staring at me like that.” she replied, taking a sip of her coffee. Stan came over to the couch and Beverly moved her legs so he could sit down before resting them in his lap. “I mean… I really like her so there’s that. Even if she likes me back, though, I don’t know…”

 

One hand rested on Beverly’s shin while the other held his coffee. “For all the shit you gave me yesterday, I’m surprised you don’t just know.”

 

“For as clueless as you are, I’d think that you would realize it isn’t easy for anyone.” 

 

“Oh, shut up. You know it isn’t like that. You just talk about it all as if you’re so sure of it all. I just assumed you had a lot of it figured out.”

 

Beverly laughed and set her coffee on the table so she could adjust on the couch and rest her head on Stan’s shoulder. “I’ve never been sure of my own stuff, Stanny.” she mumbled. Stan set his own cup down on the end table beside the couch and put his hand over Beverly’s.

 

“Did she call you guys hanging out a date?”

 

“I mean… yeah. But we sometimes call us hanging out a date and we definitely aren’t interested in each other.”

 

“Yeah, but… I don’t know. I don’t have an actual answer for that. If she doesn’t like you then I don’t know what she’s doing.”

 

“Thanks, Stanny.” Beverly laughed, kissing his cheek before she grabbed her coffee again and got up from the couch. She hummed as she walked over to the kitchen and topped off her mug of coffee. “Did that guy from Lush give you his number?” she asked, looking over at him as she leaned on the counter.

 

“I don’t think so, why?”

 

“Well, I think I’ve seen him before. I think he comes into the diner some nights. You should come down to the diner during my shift and see if he comes in.”

 

“I’m not going to just sit in the diner while you work and pine after some guy that I talked to for a few minutes.”

 

“Aw, come on! You can work on some of your homework and I’ll give you free drinks.”

 

Stan eyed Beverly for a moment before groaning. He knew that Beverly wasn’t going to give up and he was particularly fond of the tea in the diner. “Yeah, okay. I’ll get my stuff together. We can go sit there until your shift starts so I can sit in the booth I like.” Beverly laughed as he walked away to get his homework.

 

Beverly sat across from Stanley in a booth by a window. He was highlighting his textbook while she drew flowers in the margins of some paper that he had given her. They were both in their own worlds listening to music from speakers of the diner. While Beverly had her head down a couple of people approached the table.  Stanley looked up and met the eyes of another red-head before nudging Bev’s leg with his toes. “Max?” she asked, pulling the earbud out of her ear.

 

A curly haired boy let go of another boy’s and stepped forward, putting his hands on the table. “Did you and Max go on a date last night? If I hear her talk about it one more time and hear her go on about how unsure she is, I’m going to scream.” The redhead shot a look at the curly haired boy and Stan watched while trying to conceal his interest.

 

“Is this the girl that you went on a date with last night, Bev?” he asked, setting down his highlighter and leaning forward a bit. The girl, Max, looked him over but her eyes landed back on Beverly. “Bev talks about you a lot. She doesn’t know if it was a date or not either.”

 

Max shot the boys a look and the two that came in with her seemed to get the memo and go sit at the booth. Stan stared for a moment, almost challenging her to make him move. The two stared at each other for a moment before Max rolled her eyes and Beverly got out of her seat to follow Max. The two girls left and Stan tried to wave over the boys so they could sit with him. “Who are you? Who is she?” he asked.

 

“I’m Lucas.” said the one boy, sliding into the booth and patting the seat beside him so that the other boy could sit. “That’s Dustin. He’s just kind of tired of listening to Max talk about the other girl. What’s her name?”

 

“Beverly.”

 

“Yes, her. I guess they’ve been hanging out a little bit and Max really likes her but Max just… is really new with all of this. I mean the two of us dated but we both kind of broke up when we realized that we had different interests.” Lucas explained. Stan bit his lip and thought for a moment before nodding. He could understand the position that the other two were in.

 

“I’m Bev’s roommate. She’s talked about it quite a bit. She isn’t fully out to the rest of our friends so it’s really only me that she talks to about this.” he explained. The two boys nodded and Stan smiled a bit. “I’m Stan, by the way.”

 

The three of them sat there for a little while and they talked a bit. Mostly Stan did his homework and Dustin and Lucas talked. Max came back in and Beverly walked in behind her holding Max’s hand with a beaming smile. When they came back to the table Beverly smiled at Max before looking at everyone else. “So my shift starts in about five minutes. You guys can linger if you want but Stan is grumpy when he gets distracted.” Stan rolled his eyes, but didn’t protest. Max looked over at Beverly and kissed her cheek while the other two boys got out of the booth. They shared a smile before walking out of the diner.

 

“Let me know when your shift is over, Bev.” Max said before she followed Lucas and Dustin out. Beverly watched them go before she patted the back of Stan’s head and went behind the counter so she could clock in for her shift. Stan watched her go before he shook his head and went back to work. 

 

Beverly refilled his cup about three times before he finally took out his earbuds and was able to get her attention. “I’m not going to say I was wrong or that you were right. However, this place is nice to study in.” Beverly smiled at him and shook her head before she went to clean up some plates.

 

By the fifth refill, Stan was starting to think that he was almost done with his work. As he was citing his sources for an essay for his class, he felt someone tap his shoulder. Stan pulled an earbud out of his ear and turned to look at whoever touched him with the dirtiest look he could muster. However, the look quickly softened when he saw the gentle face of the boy from Lush. “Is this seat taken?” the boy asked, pointing to the seat across from Stan. All Stan could do was shake his head and smile to himself when the boy slid into the seat across from him.


End file.
